


suit up

by recklessandburgundy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Criminal AU, Guns, Implied Sexual Content, Injury, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Violence, also it is a futuristic style thing like sci-fi so fancy gadgets and shiro's arm and stuff :D, just assume they're all there p much, the klance is, whatever you'd expect from the voltron team as a crew
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-09 22:29:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7819744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/recklessandburgundy/pseuds/recklessandburgundy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Voltron"; an up-and-coming gang in the criminal underground set on revenge for the fall of "Altea" 's empire. With roots deep into where Altea left off, and heir to its' ruins Allura spearheads the crew in an effort to take down the "Galra". Much easier said than done with a rag-tag group of misfits and vagabonds when you're up against an army. </p><p>Enter Keith Kogane, seemingly future successor to the Galran's commerical front and by association its underbelly, who opens up a world of opportunity when a kidnapping gone wrong leads him out of the Galra and into Voltron. His allegiance is turned on its head and a tidal wave of new information catapults the crew right where they both want and don't want to be. </p><p>Lance finds himself in way too deep.</p><p>(Alternatively titled; "go out with a bang bang bang")</p>
            </blockquote>





	suit up

**Author's Note:**

> waa!! this is my first fic that ive ever published so im nervous!!! but excited this should be fun :D Primarily Lance's pov, with Keith's here and there. I'll try to do their characters justice, plz be patient with me :D
> 
> idk how that summary was but dw! fic is a bit more lighthearted that it seems. think fake ah crew kind of thing. updates will be very slow until about december; im in my senior year and my exams are coming up, so. 
> 
> props to ohprcr on tumblr and their awesome klance fanart ( ohprcr.tumblr.com/post/147334103157/suit-up ) that inspired this! ilu

/////

 

"Lance, come _on_. We don't have time for this."

The voice hissed in his ear through the small earpiece lodged there, but Lance was too busy slapping a sharkish grin onto his face and dropping a pickup line over a glass of crisp champagne. The two girls before him laughed, and probably taking pity on him, indulged him. Chatter lasted for a few minutes. 

" _Lance_. For fuck's sake."

This time it was another voice, one that made him politely excuse himself from the conversation and head for the nearest private bathroom. This was the voice he had to obey. 

"Shiro, c'mon! I'm mingling!"

"No, you're not. You're wasting time. Get in, get Kogane, get out. Stick to the goddamn plan so for once I don't have to come in and save your sorry ass."

"Jeez Dad, fine."

"Lance! I swear to--" But Lance had tuned him out, stepping back into the main room, nodding politely as people glanced at him. 

The _plan_ was to engage Keith Kogane, son of Sel Zarkon. Zarkon Enterprises was the legal front for one of the biggest criminal gangs in the entire city; The Galra. Kogane was their _in_ , the weakest link in Zarkon's chain of power. Lance's team (well, not Lance's. He was just the front for this particular… heist) was well on the way to taking out this competition, but they were lacking some closely held information. And with Kogane lined up to take control of the gang and the business, he surely knew what they needed. The hardest part was getting to him; layers of personal security on top of the usual. Lucky for the Voltron crew, it was Kogane's twenty-first birthday, and Zarkon would never pass up an opportunity to show off his money. 

So here Lance was. Least known by Zarkon's people and thus most suited for this infiltrating job. Pressed shirt and tailored suit (courtesy of Allura's apparently endless funds), in simple black, of course, he was all dressed up for a party he was definitely not invited to. But "Michael Roberts" was, and hey, who could tell the diff, right? Now all he had to do was find his mark. Which, unfortunately, was easier said than done.

Birthday party for Kogane himself, and he was no-where to be seen. 

Lance had flirted and small-talked his way this far, and he wasn't stopping now. A few "Have you seen the birthday boy?" 's and he was on his way to the far end of the ballroom, swapping his mostly-empty and now warm champagne for a full and cold one on a passing waiter's tray. Eventually he came across a crowd, far back by one of the couches that lined the walls. And considering the amount of black-suited beefcakes standing around Lance could easily assume that he'd found Kogane. Pushing his way alongside the ring of people by the wall, he found himself stumped. 

Sure he'd seen a photo of Kogane, who hadn't? He was Zarkon's son, not to mention Lance's mark. Of _course_ he's seen a photo. 

(A blurry one that Pidge had procured from a security tape because Kogane was, unfortunately, known as a nephew and not as a son. Not as popular as you'd think.)

Black hair, check. Terrible haircut, check. Dark eyes, check. Dark eyes that looked freaked out and uncomfortable? Dark eyes that… were… now... staring at Lance?

"Uh, excuse me," Kogane was suddenly saying, standing and turning (straight for Lance?), walking out of the circle of people. He grabbed Lance tightly by the arm and stepped them out of the circle, into another crowd. Lance's heart stopped. Fuck. He wasn't as low-profile as they'd thought. Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck._

_"Get me out of here, now."_

..Wait. What? 

_"Please."_

Motion took over before Lance could process it and they were walking, stepping through the crowds the same way Lance had initially come. A good few minutes later and they came to a stop, Kogane glancing around nervously. 

_What the fuck is going on!_ Lance was thinking, as Kogane finally let him go.

"God, thank-you. I don't think I could have stood another second of those people. ...What's your name, guard?" The target's voice was quiet, rough. Something Lance would never have expected. 

"Uh--" Oh. The black suit. He looked like one of those bodyguards standing around. "It's Thomas."

"Well, Thomas. Think you could 'chaperone' me back to my room? I'm feeling bit un-well." Kogane's tone was insinuating a little less 'I'm a little sick' and a little more 'I'm fucking over this can we please go'. Lance didn't need to the told twice. 

"...Lead the way, Mr. Kogane, sir."

That got him a strange look. 

"Call me Keith."

 

/////

 

Somehow (and Lance had no idea how) they got up to Kog- _Keith_ 's room, avoiding other security on the way. After taking a few flights of stairs instead of the elevator, Lance was a little tired, but Keith apparently had no end to his mission until they finally closed the door behind them. Said man proceeded to take two steps into the room and flop face-down onto the bed. 

Lance stared.

After a few moments of silence, Keith turned his head and looked across to room to where Lance was still standing just in front of the closed door. 

"You can sit down you know. I'm sure no-one going to come flying through the door and kill me any time soon, so." He spoke with a casual tone; something Lance, again, would never expected. See, when you get shown a blurry photo and read a messy, slap-dash profile (because Pidge can't deny they love the feeling of handing over one of those manilla folders full of papers), you expect a high-profile criminal who is smooth and dangerous; voice like honey with sinewy muscle and smouldering eyes. Well. Maybe that was just Lance, but moving on. The son of Zarkon was meant to be all of that (meant to have a better damn _haircut_ ) and everything more. He was meant to be suave, meant to decimate you with a crooked smile as he guns down your team without even looking. He was the _bad guy_. Bad guys were supposed to be _cool_. Not… "Keith". 

Wasn't even a cool name. 

"You're making me uncomfortable just looking at you. Sit."

Lance didn't hesitate again, plonking himself down into the arm chair next to the coffee table. Keith seemed satisfied with that, digging his face back into the bed. 

"...Lance?" came Shiro's curious voice in his ear. Lance jumped in his chair, too absorbed in studying the heir to Voltron's biggest rival gang.

"...Well. If you're still there, we don't have eyes on you anymore. You're basically on your own, _again_. If you'd followed the plan for once in your goddamn life this wouldn't have been an issue, but here we are. I hope you--"

"Lance!" Hunk's voice interrupted, "Hurry up man. I don't know what you're up to but we _need_ to get gone before we get noticed."

There was silence over the line for a moment. 

"Uh, okay. Are you sure this is on, Pidge? Oh. Okay. He's probably busy."

And the static cut out. 

Lance let out the breath he'd been holding. Alright, it was okay. He could do this. The plan was still a go. Everyone seemed unconcerned about his lack of communication (even though usually he was dangerously chatty), but he was, as Shiro has so kindly put it, on his own. He had to fix his own mess. Not that it was his mess! Keith started it. Of course he did! He _was_ the bad guy. 

Speaking of, Keith had sat up, and was staring right at Lance. He was frowning, eyes running over Lance as the man scanned over him, lips pursed slightly to the left. The scrutiny gave Lance goosebumps, and he shifted his weight uncomfortably. Words tried to stumble their way out of his mouth, but Keith waved his hand dismissively and Lance promptly shut up. 

"Thomas, right?" Keith began, and Lance nodded, although maybe a little too quickly. He was never the best liar. And Keith seemed to pick up on it. "How long have you been with my guard?"

"Uh, I'm new, actually," Lance said, "Just for tonight." Keith's eyebrows went up.

"I wasn't aware there was new security."

"It was a last minute thing." Which wasn't entirely a lie. It had been last minute. Only that 'last minute' was about twenty minutes ago and Lance was still on a mission to kidnap the guy. Speaking of, Keith hadn't responded. He was still just… watching. His gaze wasn't necessarily soft, but it was distant, grazing over Lance's form standing before him as though he almost wasn't paying attention. Staring through straight to the wall behind Lance, and if he was honest, it was extremely disconcerting.

And just as sudden as Keith had dragged Lance out of the ballroom, his gaze went sharp and cold. 

"Who are you?"

His words were accompanied by a step back, his hands raising between them. Lance paled, and backtracked. 

"Whoa whoa whoa, hey, Keith, buddy, slow down--"

 _"Who are you?!"_ Keith yelled. 

"Okay! Okay, chill, I'm not here to kill you or anything. Jeez." Lance's own hands came up as well, ready to do his best in recalling Shiro's crash-course in self-defense (speaking of Shiro, noise exploded in his ear at the sound of their confrontation, but Lance couldn't focus on that now). "I'm… here for information."

"Doesn't answer my question, 'Thomas'. If that's even your name."

"Yeah, okay, let me finish. I'm from, y'know, Voltron? Look, I'm not gonna hurt you or anything I _swear--_ " Lance stopped himself short. Keith's arms had fallen, and he looked a little confused. Lance floundered. What the hell was even happening right now?`

"Voltron? What is that?" Keith said, standing more comfortably. Apparently Lance wasn't a threat anymore. Well. That was comforting. 

"Voltron! You know! Sworn enemy to Zarkon's Galra? We're rivals!"

"...I've never-- oh. Wait. You're part of that gang of _kids_ that keeps getting in the way, right?"

"Wha-- Hey! We're fully accomplished adults, thank-you!" Lance neglected to mention that Pidge wasn't _quite_ adult yet. Not far off though. Keith's eyebrow went up. 

"I don't have time for this. How did you even-- No, I don't care, really," Keith said, making for his phone, "Get out of here, and I won't call my personal security on you. Sound okay, kid?"

"We're like the same age!"

Keith just looked at him. Clearly, he didn't care, and Lance probably shouldn't have been surprised. "Can I just," Lance made a face. This really wasn't the right way to go about this. "-ask you a few questions? I swear I'll go after."

 _"--Lance what the actual_ fuck _is going on--"_

"What? No!" Keith looked offended that Lance had even asked (c'mon! He was _trying_ to be polite here).

"Please man, it's nothing big I just--" _this is so weird what the actual hell_

"Keith? You in here?" 

A voice from the other side of the door made both of them pause. Lance held his breath, and Keith looked conflicted. He took another second or so before he replied. 

"Yeah."

"Well, could you let me in?"

Keith and Lance stared at each other, Lance daring and Keith in defiance. Then Keith moved for the door, turning his back on Lance, giving him the chance to draw the stun-gun hidden in inner breast pocket. The bonuses of Coran's tailored suits; always a secret pocket somewhere.

Keith opened the door and in walked another man, dressed impeccably (just like Lance, obviously). He closed the door behind himself, walking himself into the centre of the room before stopping and (finally) noticing Lance standing off to the side, weapon in hand. 

"...Keith, who is this?"

"That's a very good question, _Thace._ " The stress on the name and the pointed stare at Lance made him aware that he probably should have known who this guy was. He didn't. 'Thace' looked at Keith, and back at Lance. Then Keith again. Said man huffed. 

"He looked like security, I made him help me get away from the party. Says he's with 'Voltron'."

Thace looked relieved, and his hand returned from where it was totally reaching for is own weapon. "Thank Christ," he said, "Allura sent you, right?"

It was Lance's turn to be confused. "What? How do you-- What's going on?"

There was a pause again, and Thace turned to Keith. "Look. This party? Not just for your birthday. It's cover for an assassination."

"What do you--"

"Your father wants you dead, Keith. This was the perfect opportunity to blame it on someone else."

"What are you _talking_ about?!" Lance exploded. "How do you know Allura? How did you I know I was--"

"Stop. Now is not the time. You're getting Keith out of here before he can be killed, alright? Allura is expecting him. Don't worry. I'm sure she'll explain everything to you. But for now, you need to _go._ " Thace said. Keith hadn't made a comment since he'd identified Lance, and now he looked pale. 

"Are you serious?" he said quietly. "They want to kill me? I'm going to die tonight?"

"No! No, no you're not. Lance is going to get you out."

"The hell he is!"

"How do you know my name?!"

"Sh--"

There was a pounding on the door, someone yelling. Everything seemed to stop for a _second_ , and then started even faster than is was happening before. Thace was grabbing Keith by the arm and shoving him at Lance, Lance barely managing to catch him before he could trip and fall. There was more yelling and Keith was fighting his grip but all Lance could hear was Allura's voice in his ear telling him to go, take Keith and _go_ , Lance, now, _GO_.

He turned, keeping his hold on Keith's arm and pulling him as he went, heading straight for the window he'd noticed before. Yanking it open, he thanked any and every god listening that it opened onto the fire escape, and tried to tug Keith out. He stood fast, staring back into the room where Thace was standing. 

"Go, Keith," he said. "I'll see you again, another day."

The pounding at the door stopped for a tick and everything was quiet; then the door was smashed in and Thace was pulling out his gun. Keith looked like he was ready to be sick as the sound of gunshots filled the air, but he was pliable enough for Lance to pull him through the window and rush him down the old fire escape. The rusted metal rattled noisily under their feet as they moved down as fast as safely possible, and at one point creaked so loudly Lance feared he was about to fall through. Keith almost did; the last rung of the ladder down sheared in half as he put his weight on it, and Lance helped him to his feet after he crumpled to the asphalt. 

Allura was still talking in Lance's ear, and he didn't waste any breath arguing with her. "Run, Lance," she was saying, "Go right, and keep running. The rest of the team is moving now, and they'll find you. Just move."

He looked at Keith, who was staring up at the window they'd just come out of. "Buddy, we gotta go, and we gotta go _now._ "

"He's going to die."

The sound of Keith's voice, small and lost, made Lance pause. "Hey." he said, touching his arm, "We need to get moving. I'm sure he wouldn't want you to waste your chance here."

Keith resigned himself to a nod, swallowing as he turned away. "Let's go."

_did Allura say right or left? im pretty sure it was left… no, it was right-- nevermind just go lance_

This time, making sure Keith was following, he didn't hesitate; took off to the right, down and out of the alley. Kept his eyes peeled for the van that he'd gotten here in and made sure they were running as fast and as far from the hotel that they could. His legs _burned_. He probably needed to take up a more frequent fitness routine. Should really have taken Shiro's advice, in hindsight.

The street wasn't too busy, allowing Lance to lead a still-pale-looking Keith down the road, barely managing a glance either way before crossing whenever they had to. The warm glow of the streetlights paving their way down the road made everything soft, almost blurred, and Lance could hardly breathe but he wasn't going to stop now. If he could do anything, anything at all, it was a delivery. Of Keith and himself. In one piece. Which, about five minutes ago, had seemed a lot easier than it did now. Keith himself was keeping up well enough (annoyingly enough), giving Lance the chance to pay more attention to _where the hell the fucking van is_ . Come on, it really couldn't be that hard to drive down the road and find them, could it? They were sprinting down the sidewalk in suits, against the flow of people who were already there. 

They had paused in stride to check the road, when the shiny black van Lance had come out of earlier in the evening pulled up next to them, side door sliding open. Someone was yelling, _everyone_ was yelling, and Lance was shoving Keith in the door ahead of himself.The door slammed shut behind them and the vehicle took off (going by the smoothness of their take-off, Hunk was at the wheel. He was the best driver of the team, after all), throwing Lance and Keith together and then onto the floor. The side of Lance's head cracked onto the shabbily-carpeted flooring, and his vision swum for a moment before he was helped to his feet by familiar hands. 

"Thank Christ you're okay, Lance," Shiro was saying, swapping himself in his seat for Lance. Once he seemed satisfied that Lance wasn't bleeding from anywhere, he turned to Keith, who was slowly sitting up as he tried to catch his breath from their wild sprint. "Count yourself lucky Lance didn't leave you behind," Shiro said, offering a hand that Keith didn't take, "He's done that before." Keith didn't reply. Didn't even look up.

"I'm Shiro," he said, trying to coax out a response, "and I can promise we're not going to hurt you."

"Yeah. Sure." Keith's voice was quiet and bitter. 

"Look man, you're not the only one out of the loop here," Lance said, looking to Shiro for more answers, "Why didn't _I_ know about this anyway?"

"Allura thought it best that we kept it quiet. That way less could go wrong."

"Less could get spilled if I was caught, right?"

"...Well, yeah. That was part of it, I suppose."

Lance didn't hold it against him or Allura. They were capable leaders and he didn't have it in himself to question them. Yeah some things he didn't agree with but he understood that they generally knew more than he did. He just had to trust that they knew what they were doing. 

A sharp turn made Lance almost slide out of the seat, and Shiro almost fell over onto Keith. An apology came from the driver's seat (yeah, thanks for that Hunk) and when Lance went to retort Pidge's voice stopped him. 

"We're being followed," they said, not looking up from the laptop perched on their lap, "Shut up Lance."

"Hey!"

Pidge ignored him. "Hunk, hurry up and lose our tail. We've got a delivery to make, you know." Keith's face soured again.

Lance frowned to himself, looking over everyone else in the vehicle. "Did you guys know about this?"

"Not until Allura spoke up on comms. Shiro explained." Pidge's response was crisp, accompanied by the clattering of keys.

"Have you lost them, Hunk," came Allura's delicate voice (speak of the devil and they shall appear), and Hunk replied a negative. 

"Can't shake them."

"Well, try harder." Pidge said. Their voice was thin, but didn't have any bad intention. 

"Seatbelts on please, everyone," Hunk was saying, Shiro ushering Keith up and into a seat, "This is about to get rough."

The vehicle roared and then they were accelerating. There weren't any windows in the back, so Lance had no idea where they were really headed, but he could manage. He had enough trust in Hunk as a teammate to not complain about anything. 

Well, until he smacked his head on the side of the vehicle, right where he'd fallen before.

"Jesus Hunk," he said, "Could you take that corner any sharper?" No-one replied to him. 

 

/////

**Author's Note:**

> hmu on tumblr! my url is the same as my pseud :D


End file.
